Beautiful People #12: A Smol, Sweet Hacker

Hey, guys! Today I'm teaming up with Cait @ Paper Fury and Sky @ Further Up and Further In to bring you Beautiful People, a link up where you answer questions about your book characters. This month, I'll be introducing Finley Dratch, the tech genius and main character from my spy novella series The Spies Just Shy of Legendary.(By the way, you can read even more about Finley here and here.)

1. What are they addicted to/can't live without?

I often can't resist the urge to sneak little bits of myself into my favorite characters, and the tidbit I gave Finley is my love of anime - even though I know it's something not a lot of readers can connect to. His walls are crammed with anime posters; his shelves are stuffed with manga. He especially loves Haikyuu!!, Ouran High School Host Club, and Yuri!!! on Ice.

2. Name three negative and three positive qualities about him.

Positive: Finley is incredibly smart, especially when it comes to technology and engineering. He's kind to everyone, and he's very hardworking.

Negative: Fin has a hard time standing up for what he believes in; he's very, very easy to intimidate and control. I might classify this next one as more detrimental than negative, but he also has a difficult time stepping out of his shell.

3. Are they holding onto something they should get rid of?

I mean, if "something" can include "membership in a dangerous gang," I'd say so.

4. If 10 is completely organized and 1 is completely messy, where do they fall on the scale?

11.

5. What most frustrates them about the world they live in?

This is a pretty common theme in the series since it's the reason most of the characters turn to crime: the inequality between the rich and the poor and how hard it is for the poor to move up. It was impossible for Fin to pay for both tuition at MIT and his mom's chemo, so he turned to malevolent hacking ("blackhatting"), and everything just spiraled down from there.

6. How would they dress for a night out? For a night in?

If "out" means a fancy dinner or party, a suit. If it means a movie or a midnight picnic by the harbor, a motorcycle jacket, nerdy t-shirt, and jeans. As for spending the night in, he'd go with the same nerdy t-shirt but pair it with basketball shorts or sweatpants.

7. How many shoes do they own, and what kind?

Two pairs. He ain't rich, yo. One is a pair of tennis shoes that used to be white and are now permanently grey, and one is a carefully-preserved pair of patent dress shoes.

8. Do they have any pets? What pets do they WISH they had?

He doesn't have any pets, though he thinks he might like a cat or a fox. He lives with everyone else in his mini-gang, and the leader, Nagisa, is allergic to most pets and therefore bans them.

9. Is there something or someone they resent? What happened?

Well....

....yes.

10. What's usually in their fridge or pantry?

Again, Finley lives with five other people, so the fridge and pantry are often full of food he himself wouldn't necessarily eat. But he does make sure to stockpile milk and orange juice, Keebler crackers, and rye bread.

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Let's chat! How are your WIPs going? Do you put bits of yourself into your characters? And if you're doing BP, share a link with me! Comment below, and have a fabulous day. <3

AHHH THANK YOU. My writing is kind of lagging right now as well; I actually wrote this stuff way back in June. Since then, the story has taken a backseat, but I'm eager to finish up my current project and dive right into it!

I, too, want a pet fox! Someday, someday (I hope). And there may be more readers out there than you think who have dual obsessions -- books and anime both. *hands raise in benediction* May your audience find you.

As for putting myself into characters, the one I chose for this round (my first!) of Beautiful People was actually based on me, before she decided to stretch out and become her own person. So we've definitely got some interests in common. ^_^

Ohh, that's so cool! A few years ago, I wrote a character mostly based on myself - her name was Gwynnia, and she loved fairytales. Her story sadly didn't make it, but I may still resurrect her someday!

Finley sounds like a tormented character! I love tormented characters! (Grins evilly)You have some fabulous answers to these questions. I love number 4. Hilarious, but definitely makes a point. I also like how you incorporated excerpts of the story in this post. Well done!I participated in Beautiful People this month too! I am currently working on a fantasy novel, and right now I am making pretty good progress. (I think?)Great job, and good luck!

This is fantastic! From your character to your writing style and adding the bits from the actual book, it's just amazing! I already loathe Sage, and I feel for Finely. He's such a neat character. I'd love to read the book if (when?) its published. Way to write, and keep it up :D

To answer your questions, my wips are doing decently (*wheezes at an ever-growing pile of half-finished drafts*), yes i put myself in characters, and here's mine for the months: https://bekahthebookworm.blogspot.com/2017/08/beautiful-people-august-2017-edition.html